Tabs
Song for a Deck Hand's Daughter - James McMurtry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From "Too Long in the Wasteland".
Standard tuning, no capo.
INTRO:
C majorC
, . , . , . , . , . , . , . , .
||------------------|------------------||
||----------------1-|---------------1--||
||*-------0---------|-----0-----------*||
||*-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---*||
||--3---------------|-3----------------||
||----------3-------|---------3--------||
*use variants on this strum pattern throughout
VERSE 1:
C majorC 
DmDm
He'd always whistle "Jolie Blonde"
Fmaj7Fmaj7 C majorC
On his way out the back door on a Friday night
C majorC DmDm
So many times he just stayed gone
Fmaj7Fmaj7 C majorC 
C/BC/B
And rarely did he try to treat your Mama right
A minorAm 
E minorEm
Shut off the tractor with the field half mowed
F/CF/C C majorC
Set the brake and headed down the road
A minorAm E minorEm
Came home for Christmas, never said where he'd been
F/CF/C
With no presents for the children
A minorAm
Only stories for the men
CHORUS 1:
A minorAm G(see riff at end)
Still your Mama called him Daddy
C majorC C/BC/B
She never told him no
A minorAm 
G+G
Said she couldn't help but love him
F/CF/C A minorAm
You wondered how it could be so
VERSE 2:
He'd work two weeks out on a river barge
She worked in the factory, never missed a day
He'd spend his week off holding up the bar
Never took him long to drink a deck hand's pay
Wind off the river cut the lines on his face
And left him dreaming of some other place
Maybe Memphis town or Baton Rouge
When it's cold in Cape Girardeau
There's nothing much to do
CHORUS 2 (same as before)
SOLO:
A minorAm G+G F/CF/C A minorAm
Am G+G F/CF/C A minorAm
Am G+G F/CF/C A minorAm
VERSE 3:
A minorAm E minorEm
And if his suitcase wasn't standing in the hall
F/CF/C C majorC
He might not be coming home at all
A minorAm E minorEm
All the sides of him you never knew before
F/CF/C
Would be drifting down the river
A minorAm
To another back door
CHORUS 3: (chords as before)
Still your Mama called him Daddy
She couldn't tell him no
Said she couldn't help but love a man like that
You wondered how it could be so
OUTRO:
A minorAm C/BC/B C majorC
CHORUS RIFF:
G+G
, . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , .
||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
||-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---||
||-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---||
||-----0-------0---|-0h2-0---2p0-0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---||
||---------0h2-----|-----------------|-0h2-------------|-0-------2-------||
||-3---------------|-----------------|---------3-------|-----------------||
CHORDS: (bracketed notes indicate alternating bass notes)
C majorC (3)32010
DmDm x(0)0231
Fmaj7Fmaj7 x(3)3210
C/BC/B x22010
A minorAm (0)02210
E minorEm 0(2)2000
F/CF/C x3(3)21x
G+G 320003
Other versions of Song For A Deckhands Daughter
Alternative guitar chords and tabs for Song for a deckhands daughter by James Mcmurtry
